The Trouble with Truth

Kathy Krevat

Aug 2018 · A Gourmet Cat Mystery Book 2 · Lyrical Press

About this ebook

Things are looking up for single mom Colbie Summers. After relocating back to her California hometown with her adolescent son and taste-testing feline, Trouble, she’s ready to take her gourmet cat food company to the next level. Until helping a teenager gets Colbie mixed up in a fresh case of murder...

Trying to balance her hectic family life with her growing business—including a coveted contract with the local organic food store—leaves Colbie scrambling to keep all her balls in the air. But when a Sunnyside resident is found dead in his garage, she takes on a new role: harboring a suspected killer.

The eighteen-year-old murder suspect, a former foster kid and Colbie’s part-time chef, had a powerful motive to snuff out the high-profile businessman. The real question is, who didn’t? Sifting through the victim’s sordid history unearths a cat’s cradle of crimes, including money laundering and abuse. Now, to clear an innocent girl’s name, Colbie must sniff out the truth before a killer who smells trouble goes on the attack again.

Ratings and reviews

The Trouble with Truth by Kathy Krevat is A Gourmet Cat Mystery. Colbie Summers lives in Sunnyside, California with her twelve year old son, Elliott along with her father, Hank and Trouble, the cat. Colbie is getting ready for her cat food line, Meowia Batali Gourmet Cat Food to launch at Twomey’s Health Food stores. Her part-time employee, Mira recently won a contest for the play she wrote based on her life in foster care. It is being produced by the Playwrights Project at The Old Globe Theater in Balboa Park. Mira’s former foster family, The Franklin’s are less than thrilled and threaten Mira. Colbie gets a late night call from Lani Nakano, her best friend and social worker. Mira needs their help. Dennis Franklin is dead, and the police are looking for Mira. Colbie knows Mira did not harm Franklin and sets out to prove the young woman’s innocence. The Trouble with Truth is written in a conversational writing style that makes for an easy to read book. While this is the second book in A Gourmet Cat Mystery series, it can stand on its own. The author provides Colbie’s background story and a quick summary of what occurred in The Trouble with Murder. I enjoy Colbie’s interactions with Trouble. Colbie talks with her cat as many pet owners do especially when no one else is around. We get to experience Colbie’s everyday activities (cooking, laundry, shopping) as she takes care of her son, spends time with her father, manages her cat food business, and enjoys time with her friends. Colbie questions a variety of people in her quest to clear Mira’s name. She needs to work on her questioning technique since she lacks subtlety. There are a couple of suspects, good clues and a red herring. I thought the killer stood out like muddy pawprints on a white blouse. There was another element to the mystery, though, that may surprise readers. I like Detective Norma Chiron. She is friendly detective who listens to Colbie. At the same time, she does warn her to be careful and not get involved (knowing she will not listen). While getting ready to launch her cat food at Twomey’s and working to solve the murder, Elliott’s father makes an appearance. He has decided to be involved in Elliott’s life and Colbie worries that Richard will try for custody. The story started to resemble a telenovela with the added family drama. I would like to see Colbie have more of a presence. She is lacking in personality and comes across as bland at times. My rating for The Trouble with Truth is 3 out of 5 stars. The Trouble with Truth is a cute cozy cat mystery that will have you chuckling at Trouble’s antics.

A delightful cozy mystery. A nice likable mix of characters spanning 3 generations and a cat too. I will certainly read more by this author.

About the author

A California native, Kathy Krevat has written three bestselling books involving one of her favorite things: chocolate. She is looking forward to changing to her next favorite thing—cats—for her new series set in the tranquil town of Sunnyside, CA.